Pandora's Box
by CastielFan-Kari
Summary: The Winchester brothers and Castiel find Pandora's box, and must destroy it before it destroys a town, however to do so they must face the guardian of the box. Contains a lot of Greek mythology, not just the legend of Pandora's box.
1. Chapter 1: Pandora's Box

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or it's characters or it's awesomeness._

_Base Idea: The brothers discover Pandora's box and must destroy it before it destroys an entire town_

_Problems: This chapter isn't the greatest, but bear with me. This is simply the introduction. The future chapters will be more interesting and will contain some Destiel.

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It had been a long time since they'd had a break. Sam had been trying to make up for his acts when he was without his soul, which meant job after job after job. And Dean was exhausted.

"Are you seriously still up?" Yawned Dean, sitting up and looking over at Sam who had his laptop on the table in front of him.

"Still up? Dean it's the morning." Sam said. "I'm looking for new jobs."

"Yeah, I knew that." Dean said, tired and hungover. "Found anything?"

"Yeah. There are a lot of omens happening in a small town called Gulfport."

"What kind of omens?" Dean got up and stretched, trying to focus on the possible new job and push the dreams of Hell out of his mind. Perhaps Sam and Cas thought he was getting better, but truth was he still remembered every detail...

"Rising crime levels. People murdering, stealing... also there's an elevated number of people coming down with disease of all kinds... and I don't mean slightly more, I mean twenty people have committed murder in the last two weeks, seven deadly diseases including swine flu, six people coming down with severe cases of depression..."

"Sounds like somethings going on there." Dean said. "Let's go check it out." He pushed the images further back into his head. "But first... let's have breakfast."

* * *

"We just want to know why." Sam said consolingly to George. He was one of the murderers, but he didn't seem particularly violent. This was strange. No sulfur smells, no black clouds of smoke, no cold spots... not a ghost or a demon.

"I don't know. I honestly don't. I was just so MAD and she was there and the knife was just within reach... and for a moment I hated her, but that makes no sense. I loved her. I loved my wife. And I killed her, for no reason whatsoever apart from the fact that I was mad and hateful." A tear dripped down his cheek.

"Are you certain you didn't feel... like someone was... well let's just say, possessing you to do so?" Dean asked.

"No. I knew what I was doing. I wanted to do it then. I killed my wife. And I enjoyed it." He shook his head and put it in his hands.

* * *

"Okay, no ghosts, no demons... so what then?" Sam asked.

"I don't know." Dean said. "A siren maybe? The other one was making men kill their wives."

"No, no 'perfect' women." Sam sighed.

"Maybe..." Dean started. "Oh no. Maybe it's another lost angelic artifact." He sighed.

"I don't know. Maybe." Sam agreed. "We could ask Cas."

"Hey Cas!" Dean called out, looking up. Several passersby gave him strange looks. "Just, uh... just talking. You know." He told them, pointing at Sam. He pulled him into an alleyway and continued. "I think we found another angelic artifact. It, uh, makes people sin? For no reason?"

"I'm here, what do you mean?" Castiel said, appearing behind them suddenly. Dean explained it to him. "Interesting." He said before disappearing.

"Great. You know, he's never any help." Dean said, irritated.

"He rescued you from Hell." Sam stated.

"Okay, okay, that was mildly helpful." Dean admitted.

"He teleported you out of the safe room to attempt to stop the apocalypse. He helped us shove Lucifer back into his box, costing him his life... again."

"Yeah, okay I get the idea." Dean said, even more irritated.

"He's helped us countless times with lore, finding demons, fighting demons, killing Crowl-"

"OKAY!" Dean exclaimed, glaring at Sam.

"I'm back." Castiel said, appearing behind them.

"What did you find?" Asked Sam.

"There is something going on in this town. Something big. I believe we may have located Pandora's Box."


	2. Chapter 2: The Legend

_Notes: The basic summary of the Pandora's Box legend. Most people think they know it, but few people actually know the true tale, with Prometheus and Epimetheus. So here it is. Also, the beginning of the Destiel.

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"Pandora's Box... that's Greek mythology, isn't it?" Sam asked, not liking the sound of it.

"Geek." Dean inserted.

"Yes." Castiel said. "Unfortunately the legend is true."

"So what's this legend? I didn't ever study Greek mythol-whatever." Dean said.

"There was a god who, a long, long time ago gave fire to the humans. He showed them it's power. His name was Prometheus. Zeus - and other gods who were never mentioned in the legend – was furious with him because they hadn't been planning on giving the humans fire for a long time." Castiel started.

"Why not?" Dean interrupted.

"Why not? Dean, look what you have done to the planet." Castiel raised his hands, gesturing to the drab grey buildings surrounding them. "Everything you have destroyed requires fuel. Fuel you would not have if you never had fire."

"Oh right. Blame the humans. You know, you angels and gods could have DONE something, but you never even lifted a finger!"

"Dean, not helping." Sam said. "Continue Cas."

"After dealing with Prometheus, tying him to a rock and getting an Avenger – sort of a demon-like bird - to tear out his liver and eat it every day, he wanted retribution on the humans. So he gave to Prometheus's brother, Epimetheus, a human woman, Pandora. He had her created to be beautiful and intelligent... and above all curious. He then gave Epimetheus a box, and told him that it must never be opened, that he must guard it. So he stored it away, and that was that for him. However Pandora was so curious. She wanted to know what was in the box. So one day, defying her husband, she opened it. And out flew every type of trouble. Sorrow, Illness, Hardship, Toil... and last of all, added by the goddess Athena to be less cruel, Hope."

"Okay. So? That happened long, long ago." Dean said, shrugging.

"The legend states that those were the first hardships on the Earth. That... was not the case. See, these things are created by life, they aren't entities, they aren't alive. However, what the Box does is greatly intensify these things when it's been opened. It never leaves a town 'on the map' when it's been opened there, even if it's closed again."

"So... this town is doomed?"

"Unless we find and destroy Pandora's Box. If we don't... then yes. It's doomed and everyone here will die. It's terrible that we lost it during the war in Heaven. It isn't even really an angelic artifact, but we kept it safe anyways." Castiel said.

"Okay. Find the Box before the town is destroyed. How do we do that?" Sam asked.

"The box must always be owned, be looked after by someone. Epimetheus was killed a long time ago, however his spirit was bound to the box and inhabits whoever touches it, making them the next guardian. They will act like Epimetheus, slow-witted and easily fooled."

"That's... not much to go on." Sam said, worried.

"No." Castiel agreed, offering no more help.

"How much time do we have?" Asked Dean, hoping and dreading.

"Probably only a number of hours." Castiel answered. "But even if we fail, none of us will die."

"And why is that?" Dean demanded.

"Because I would teleport us all out before we would." He said matter-of-factly, and gave Dean one of those looks which always made Dean squirm, because it was too personal... more so then he wanted to think about.

After a few awkward moments, Sam cleared his throat and said "Uh, town being destroyed here? We should.. get to work."


	3. Chapter 3: Hercules

_Yay, they found Hercules! Just so you know, I've researched all of this. The tales are true (although I did add bits and pieces to them)._

_A step closer to finding the Box. If, of course, they can get Hercules to talk to them..._

_Oh, and the Greek is real. Roughly translated it means: Who are you? Why can't the gods leave me alone? Why must they keep reminding me? Speak!  
_

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"Okay, we don't have time to check through every person in this town. Sam, found any articles, anything out of place?" Dean was starting to get even more agitated as the clock ticked away.

"No." Sam answered flatly.

"No-one moving here when the omens started?"

"Why would there be an article on someone moving here Dean?" Sam asked. Dean glared at him. Luckily, Castiel chose that time to reappear.

"Tell me you know who Epimetheus is?" Dean said, not sounding optimistic at all.

"No, but I have a lead."

"On Epimetheus or the box?" Sam asked.

"Neither. I believe I know where Hercules is." There was silence for a few seconds.

"Wait... Hercules is real?" Sam asked.

"Like, the strong god-guy." Dean added.

"Yes. Most Greek Gods are real, but not always particularly fearsome. Hercules is more... a demi-god. Many years ago Hercules murdered his family, and his gods offered redemption if he completed several tasks. Heracles ordered Hercules to break the bonds tying Prometheus to his fate. When he did, Prometheus ran off. Zeus was furious and, although this part of the tale is unknown, his payback on Hercules was eternal, lonely life with no redemption. At any rate, Prometheus is the only one who can tell who Epimetheus is. And Hercules is the only one who knows where Prometheus is." Castiel said. "And as much as I don't like dealing with the Greek gods, we need to find the Box."

"That sounds like it will take a long time." Dean sighed.

"It may. Depending on how responsive Hercules is. And then Prometheus who probably won't want us to find and kill his brother."

"We don't HAVE a long time!" Dean exploded.

"Do you have a better plan?" Castiel hissed. When there was no reply and Dean was glaring at him, he reached out a hand and pressed three fingers to each brothers forehead.

"Hercules?" Called Castiel, turning from the brothers. They were in less of a house, more of a hermit's cabin. Very old and very, very deep in the woods. Like Hercules wanted no-one to find him.

"Is searching for a super-strong demi-god who murdered his family really that wise?" Sam wondered.

"Probably not." Dean said, shrugging. "Hey, Hercules!"

"Dude eats mice?" Dean said, finding a severed rat's tail, covered in blood.

"That is probably one of the only things he can eat. He can't exactly go to a supermarket, can he Dean?" Sam said sarcastically. Dean made a face and flung the rat's tail away.

"Maybe he isn't home?" Asked Sam.

"He's here. I can feel it." Castiel said, looking around. Then, a flash of darkness and a giant fist with the force of a sledgehammer knocked Dean into the wall, sending shivers through the wood. The shape then picked up Castiel and slammed him into the wall.

"Ποιος είσαι?" It asked. "Γιατί δεν μπορεί να τους θεούς με αφήσει μόνη της? Γιατί πρέπει να κρατούν θυμίζοντάς μου? Μίλα!" Dean's head was spinning from the impact, but he could see the human. He was big and well-muscled, scarcely dressed and looking feral and rabid.

"Great. He speaks in Greek." Dean said, rubbing the back of his head.

"I'm Castiel, an angel. We are not here to oppose you. We want to talk." Castiel said, and Hercules, after a few seconds and a suspicious look, released him.

"An angel. Good. If you were sent by Zeus, I would've killed you." He turned and glared at Sam and Dean.

"Hercules, we need to find Prometheus." Castiel asked. Hercules paused at the name, a sneer forming on his lips.

"Redemption they said! Forgiveness for such a terrible deed. I've felt guilt for these thousands of years, never once been happy. My families dead because I couldn't control my strength properly. And living forever without redemption, it's all Prometheus's fault! Complete these tasks they told me. Redemption would be the reward. But upon completing the tasks, I had pissed off Zeus! It's all thanks to Prometheus that I can never be happy. That I have to live with the memories. Forever." He sat on a chair which looked way to flimsy to hold him. "But nevertheless, why lose everything for nothing? Prometheus is safe, he's hidden, and no-one can EVER know where he is."

"We need him to find his brother. Without him an entire large town will be destroyed. Hundreds of people will die! And then the box will move on and be opened again, causing the deaths of even MORE people!" Dean said, irritated.

"Read my lips mortal." Hercules sneered. "I... don't... care. They can all die. EVERYONE can die, and I STILL won't care. You will never find Prometheus."


	4. Chapter 4: Finding Prometheus

_Here's the next chapter. Please review!

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"Look, the gods screwed you over, but that's what they do. They're gods. We've dealt with gods before, and we know that they can be bastards." Dean started.

"Understatement." Hercules sniffed.

"Prometheus is a god." Sam pointed out.

"He's not like the other gods though." Hercules said. "He doesn't see the world as a plaything, see the people as food, or entertainment. He wanted the humans to be safe, to learn. He gave them fire so that they wouldn't freeze, so that they could cook and create. He knew that the consequences for doing that would be terrible, but he did anyways because he cared more about the humans then himself. He deserved to be freed from that barren, bloody rock. Even if it meant eternal torture for me. Although, to be honest, I didn't really see that coming."

"Is there anything that will persuade you to give us the location of Prometheus?" Asked Castiel, urgently. He could feel the town was in grave danger, feel it only had several hours left and that they were wasting valuable time.

"Zeus. Dead." Hercules spat.

"Impossible in the time frame we have." Castiel sighed.

"You used to be a demi-god, Hercules." Sam said. Until then he'd been fairly quiet, forming a point that may get them the location of yet another god.

"Yeah. USED to be."

"Did you care for the humans?"

Hercules paused. "Yes. An incredible amount. I had a wife. A human wife. And children who I loved. I could see the wonder of humans."

"Can't you see it anymore?"

"I can still. Prometheus saw it too. Why is it that the gods who want to help are called the 'bad guys'? I think the humans are spectacular at times. But restricted by cruel, uncaring gods."

"Then you were lieing. When you said you didn't care about the humans in that town." Sam said. It wasn't a question.

"Yeah. I was lieing. I do care. But there isn't anything I can do about it."

"You can give us the location of Prometheus. We can stop their deaths, we just need this one piece of information."

Hercules sighed and sat quietly for a few seconds. "If Zeus or any other god follows you and figures out where Prometheus is, I will hunt you down and kill you myself." He sounded fairly serious and he looked as if it might not be a problem for him to do so. "Below where he was tied for those years there is a cave. He lives there. It was the last place anyone would suspect he'd be hiding. So close to such a terrible place. But be careful. He's being followed. By his Avenger. It's hunting him."

After getting the exact location, Castiel whisked them off. When they arrived, they found themselves on the top of a barren, hot, rocky mountain. A few feet away was a large, flat, bloodstained rock with the faint outline of where a body once lay. Over it, still gleaming and un-rusted, were broken chains of an unknown metal which had once held Prometheus.

They started their search for him. They climbed down, and not too far below they found a cave. It was well concealed with other rocks and practically invisible from the outside. Had it not been for Castiel and his abilities to sense gods nearby, they would have trekked right past it.

As they cautiously entered not one of them noticed something watching them. Something in a tree, over a mile away but with eyes so keen it could see far and wide. With a beak so sharp, it's use was tearing out livers. Not one of them noticed the Avenger, who's fat tongue now lolled out of it's beak at the promise of not just one, but FOUR livers for dinner that night.


	5. Chapter 5: Prometheus and the Avenger

"You want to know where Epimetheus is, don't you?" Prometheus said. His very long hair was scraggly and matted, as was his beard. He was ragged, cut and his clothes were torn. He looked awful, and was covered in filth, yet he smiled with an unbelievable radiance.

"Yes. We need to find him. See, Pandora's Box has been opened in this town called Gulf-" Dean started, but Prometheus silenced him with a grubby finger to his lips.

"I know already Dean."

"How could you possibly know that? You live in a cave on a hill in god knows where."

"I'm still a god Dean. I may have been cast out, I may have died a million times over, I may be ragged, but I'm still a god. True, my power is greatly diminished, however I have enough to lock onto my brother. I know what he's doing." Prometheus smiled at them again.

"Then you'll tell us where he is?" Sam asked, wondering why everything to get here had been so difficult yet Prometheus was willing to just hand out information.

"Oh... well yes I will. It's just, you'll kill him then. And, I may not have seen him in thousands of years, but I still love him." He sighed. "I warned him not to accept gifts from Zeus. I warned him as I was being taken away that he shouldn't trust them. But then Pandora was made specifically to please him. A gift above all gifts. And the dowry... a box that he must never open. But of course, she did. Oh, she didn't mean to let loose all kinds of chaos. That wasn't her intention. She was created specifically to have burning curiosity, she was CREATED to open that box." Prometheus sighed again. "You must never accept gifts from the gods. Especially Greek gods."

"So... Epimetheus is where?" Sam asked awkwardly after a few seconds.

"He's posing as a janitor for the school. Daunting work for a god, but then again he was never the brightest. Our names... Prometheus, which means forethought, and Epimetheus, which means afterthought."

"Okay..." Dean said, a little suspiciously. This was all too easy. Perhaps he was lying. If he was then they'd have to take them with him or they'd lose him. "You should come with us. Get out of the cave once every century."

"I really can't." Prometheus said sadly. "I'd LOVE to see the world as it is now, now that you have had fire for so long, but I can't. The Avenger is on my tail, and if he finds me, he'll drag me back up to the rock once he'd torn out my liver and eaten it. That's the only thing that thing eats."

"What... what does an Avenger look like?" Sam asked, peering past Prometheus outside the cave where a large vulture-like bird was watching them closely.

"He's a demon-bird, evil and immortal. If you kill him, he just comes back to life a few hours later. He's very large, looks mildly like a vulture, with a deadly-sharp beak, red eyes, and black feathers."

"Shit!" Sam cried and pushed Prometheus down as the creature swooped into the cave, it's wings scraping the sides of the cave. It flew over them and into Castiel's face where it started clawing at his eyes with it's sharp talons.

Castiel threw it from him forcefully, but it's dug in talons ripped off even more flesh. His face was cut and torn and flaps of shredded skin were dangling from it. One eye was closed and bleeding, a rake mark across it.

The Avenger screeched at them, it's eyes fixed on Prometheus. "Nice to see you again." It squawked.

The god sighed and got up to face it. "Go, find my brother, save the town, destroy the box. Don't worry, I've fought this thing before."

Castiel, holding his face together with a hand and healing himself, teleported them all away.

"Why did you lie to them?" the Avenger asked, letting them go. Oh well, so he'd only be having one liver, but it would taste so much better because he'd been after it specifically for so long.

"About what?"

"About facing me before? You've only ever run."

"I needed them to leave and save a small portion of humanity."

"You'll die and wake up chained again." The bird squawked. It wasn't a question.

"Ah, but I'll lose heroically." Prometheus grinned. "I gave fire to the humans, I thought it through. I can take the punishment. But you know what? Given the choice, I'd do so all over again." And he sprang at the Avenger, accepting the gashes it's sharp beak opened in his stomach as it ripped and tore.

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_I always felt bad for Prometheus. Please Review!_


	6. Chapter 6: The Box takes effect

_Okay, so this chapter is really short, but I didn't have much time today. So, sorry, but please review!

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"The school." Dean cried out when they arrived back. But then he realized that Castiel was doubled over, clutching his face.

"I might... have to sit this out." He said, and when Dean pulled his hand away from his face he saw the flapping skin and deep claw marks will still there. "The Avenger... it's a magical demon-bird. Very powerful. The wounds... I can't heal them." he grimaced at the pain of having large gaping wounds, one of which was over his eye, that were bleeding everywhere.

"Should we bring him to a hospital?" Sam asked Dean, urgently.

"No time." Dean sighed. He grabbed the bandages and made Castiel a brief wrap. "Don't touch that. You'll be okay. Just... go back to the hotel and try not to move. We'll be back soon."

"We can't just leave him like that. Did you see how much blood he was losing?" Sam disliked the idea. Dean did too. He didn't want Castiel to be hurt, he was worried about him, but there physically nothing he could do and time was running out for the town. Everywhere he looked now he saw people fighting in the streets, sobbing or hacking up their lungs. When he saved the town he'd worry about Castiel, but for now there was nothing he could do.

Instead of wasting time explaining this, he simply grunted, "Come on." And led the way to the school, which had just been let out for the day.

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"Epimetheus." Panted Dean. Sam was nowhere to be seen because they had split up in order to find him.

"I don't know what you're talking about." The guy said hesitantly, obviously lieing because not only does his voice portray uncertainty, but he also touches his face as if to make sure he looks human, an obvious tell.

"Prometheus told us where you were." Dean said. "Where's the box?"

"I... uh-" He puts aside his mop. "I still don't know. That is, don't know what you're talking about."

_You might just be the worst liar I have ever met. _Dean thought. "It's about to destroy an entire town! Where is it?"

The man suddenly dropped his terrible act. "I don't know." He shrugged.

"You're the freaking guardian! How the hell don't you know?" Dean shouted in rage. It crossed his mind that Epimetheus might be lying, but he wasn't good enough to lie with a straight face.

"I'm the guardian... yes... however it was always Pandora's box... she has it. I am tied to it. I work in the towns where it is, but I ain't actually seen it for years." He shrugged.

"Okay, where is she?" Dean grated his teeth. Time was running out!

"I don't know." He shrugged.

"She's your fucking wife!" Dean shouted.

"I just mop floors, okay? That's all I've been doing for years. I ain't seen Pandora for ages. Last time I did she was mad that I let her open the box. That doesn't even make sense!"

"So we find you, and you don't even know anything? Great! Just great!"

"Dean!" Sam said, running into the room, he doubled over and started coughing painfully.

"Sam?" Dean ran over to him.

"I think it's affecting me." Sam said before puking over Dean's jacket, for which he swore to get even eventually. "I think the box is affecting me."


	7. Chapter 7: Pandora

_Please review!

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"Well, you have a partner now Cas." Dean said to him, changing his blood-soaked bandages. Sam was on the bed next to him, groaning.

"What will you do now?" Castiel asked.

"Find Pandora." Dean answered.

"How?"

"Well, she's in this town. She has to be, because Epimetheus is here. Okay, a profile. She was made to be smart, curious, kind, helpful and beautiful. She was a gift from the gods herself. So what would someone like that be doing?"

"Epimetheus is bound to her, isn't he? Because she's his wife AND because she has the box." Sam said. He looked awful, very feverish.

"Yeah, so?"

"So how many places here could he become a janitor for? And he chose the school? I doubt that would be the absolute best paying place..."

"So it IS the school!" Dean exclaimed and jumped up. "Neither of you move, I'm going to fix this."

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Posing as an FBI agent investigating the suicides in the town, Dean easily got hold of all the names of teachers and staff at the school. There were several female teachers, and he knew he was running out of time so he looked at when they arrived here. Epimetheus had come four years back, so when he found a female teacher who had arrived then also, he knew she was the one.

He drove quickly to her house, swerving several car accidents on the way. More chaos the box was causing. When he got there he didn't even bother knocking, but kicked the door in, and entered to find a very, very frightened looking woman.

"Who are you? Why are you in my house?" She had long black hair that was tied back in golden ribbons, big brown eyes and a very slim figure. She had a kind face, but clever eyes. Overall, Dean checked her out for several seconds before remembering he was on a short schedule.

"Pandora? Where's the box?"

Immediately Pandora knew there was no sense in lieing, trying to hide her identity. He was most likely a Hunter, which meant he'd met Epimetheus already. How else would he know that she had the box? Or that she even was who she was? "I don't have it at the moment. It's not here." Not surprisingly, he thought she was lieing. She could tell he did by his facial expression. "Why would I open it? I love this town! It's been my home for years! I care about it. I wouldn't try and destroy it."

Dean still looked suspicious, but it didn't seem like she was lieing. "Then where is it?"

"Someone broke into my house a few days ago and stole it. I don't know who it was, or why they wanted it. Maybe they were some common thief? I've looked for it, but at this point it's gone. They've taken it away." She looked genuinely upset. "I think it was demons."

"Why do you think that?"

"Come look." She led him to a safe underneath the stairs. It had been melted and had refrozen in blobs of thick metal. "What else could of done that? Gods, yes, but the gods haven't deemed me worthy to talk to since I opened the box in the first place." Suddenly Dean had a flashback image of Castiel waving his hand and setting Crowley's bones on fire.

"Shit." He sighed. "Definitely either demons or angels." It had to be magical fire. Because he seriously doubted that normal fire could melt an incredibly thick safe like that. "That might mean this town is doomed."

"It is." Pandora said, grief filling her voice. "Everyone will die. Even you. But not Epimetheus and me. It's terrible. Watching your town die around you, knowing that there is nothing, nothing you can do, and that you simply can't die along with it." She turned away and went over to a window, looking out upon the catastrophes she'd created by bringing the box here.

"Is there ANY way to stop it other than destroying it?" Dean asked urgently.

"Well, yes there is. But it'd never work." Pandora said.

"What is it?"

"You could always summon the only one who can control the effects of it. The one who created it. You can summon Zeus."


	8. Chapter 8: Zeus

_Please review!

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"This is a really, really bad idea." Pandora said, nervously playing with her hair.

"I've dealt with gods before." Dean said flatly, checking and rechecking the list of reagents Bobby had given them.

"Have you ever dealt with the leader of a massive number of gods? Because, trust me, he's not like the others. He much more powerful and has a much worse temper."

"Prometheus wasn't that bad."

"There's a difference there. Prometheus actually CARES about the humans. Zeus? He doesn't care. He was the one who put the box here in the first place. Why would he ever take it away?" Pandora shrugged. "It's suicide to summon him here. But if this is our only plan..." She knelt and helped Dean put the reagents into their proper places in the summoning ring of blood.

They stood back, Dean took his lighter, and set fire to the collected objects. After several minutes of waiting a rather unexpectedly ordinary voice spoke out from behind them.

"Well this was a stupid idea." Dean and Pandora turned to face a man. He looked completely ordinary except for his glowing yellow eyes. They reminded Dean of Azazel, except this creatures eyes actually GLOWED lighting up the room a little. "Summon the god who actually put the box here in the first place. Now who's brilliant idea was that? Pandora? Can't have been you. You've been such an obedient girl since you let loose havoc in the first place." His eyes flickered onto Dean's face. "I'm busy. What do you want?"

"Destroy the box. Take it back to whatever Heaven you Greek gods have. Stop the slaughter going on out there. Anything along that line."

"No. This is the reason WHY I put the box here in the first place. Because that thief Prometheus stole the fire. So I cursed the humans. Starting with Pandora." He walked over to her and around her, prodding at her several times and nodding. "We made Pandora to be absolutely enthralling to Epimetheus so he wouldn't refuse her. Hephaestus created her, Aphrodite gave her femininity and Athena taught her crafts. As a finishing touch I ordered Hermes to teach her to be deceitful, stubborn and curious. Now how COULDN'T she open the box?" Zeus laughed.

"Haven't you punished the humans enough? This damn box has been here for centuries."

"Longer actually." Zeus agreed. "But I didn't exactly set a time limit on it's stay here."

"Nobody worships the Ancient Greek gods anymore Zeus. Okay, so maybe now and then you'll find one or two people who still do, but they've moved on. No-one believes in you anymore. So how much power do you truthfully have?" Pandora taunted. Zeus said nothing.

"That's right. No worshipers, less power. Maybe you CAN'T even take the box off Earth." Dean joined in.

Zeus looked outraged but still said nothing, and his silence confirmed it.

"Then what use was summoning you? You are a pathetic, washed up god."

"I can take the box of Earth, I CAN stop it's effects. But why should I? Like that's going to get me or any of the other gods noticed." Zeus turned away.

"Zeus, my lord, I worship you still." Pandora said quietly. "If I pray for it, will you take the box away?"

Zeus considered it. She may be one of his only worshipers left. "I take the box away and you DIE Pandora. You and Epimetheus both die. Because your souls are bound to it. It leaves Earth or is destroyed and you both die."

Pandora gulped. "Take it away anyways. Please." Zeus sighed and raised a hand, ready to give in. He had no worshipers anyways. All he was doing now was throwing a temper tantrum of sorts. Better to please the one worshiper he had left, even if it meant she'd die, because in sorts that was a blood sacrifice in his name.

"Wait!" Dean said. He couldn't let Pandora die all because of a stupid box! "Don't destroy it. Take away it's effects instead. We'll find it and figure something else out with it."

"Dean, don't." Pandora said quietly. "There's no other way. There's no way to keep it safe. It'll always eventually be opened."

"We'll find something else out." Dean assured her. "Do it." He said to Zeus.

Zeus shrugged, a little happier with this line of events. At least the box would stay on Earth and continue wreaking havoc like he wanted. "Fine." He said and snapped his fingers, his eyes glowing a fierce yellow.


	9. Chapter 9: Athena

_Please review!

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"Sam! You alright?" Dean rushed over to his brother and checked him over.

"I'm fine Dean. What happened?"

"Dean, this man is bleeding heavily!" Pandora warned, sitting next to Castiel and gently lifting his bandages to check the wounds below.

"Shit. I forgot that wasn't a cause of the box." Dean turned to Sam. "Are you sure you're alright."

"Yeah, it's gone." At that Dean then turned to Castiel. He supposed the only reason the angel wasn't dead yet was that... well... he was an angel. Although none of them, not even Pandora, were entirely sure whether the Avenger's claws could kill angels, although by the looks of things, they probably could.

"Pandora, can you heal that?" Dean asked.

"This is Pandora?" Sam asked.

"No, I can't heal him. You have to remember, I'm just a human! To heal the Avenger's marks, you'd need a god. Like... Prometheus."

"What about Epimetheus?" Sam asked, certain that by this time Prometheus was re-bound and well protected by the Avenger.

"Epimetheus isn't holy anymore. He gave up his abilities a long time ago. Prometheus didn't willingly give them up. Most of his abilities were taken away from him. All of them were in fact. Except for one. Healing. Obviously, to endure his torture they needed him to come back to life every morning, to heal himself. So they let him keep his healing abilities."

"Great." Dean sighed. "Alright, Pandora, you stay here and look after Cas. We'll go find Prometheus."

"You don't need to 'find' him. He's in the same place as before. Tied to the rock. But be wary, he's protected by the ever-watchful Avenger." Pandora sat next to Castiel who tried to say something through the blood and the bandages. The most that came out sounded like 'Urgumf'.

"I believe that is Castiel's current way of saying he'll teleport you." Pandora said. The figure repeated it's noise and raised a wary blood-stained hand. Dean and Sam, uncertainly, walked over and let Castiel teleport them away.

Upon arrival at the top of the mountain, Dean and Sam fell immediately under attack. From the very first second it was duck the claws, avoid the beak, dodge the wings without falling off the cliff.

Dean drew a gun and aimed, but the Avenger knocked it out of his hands with a clout from his wings that also sent Dean careening into a rock and emerging with blood running down his face.

Sam didn't have time to draw anything, and endured several slashes down his chest when the creature turned toward him. Eventually, after rolling away he drew his demon-slaying knife, but the Avenger plucked it from his grasp with it's beak and threw it over the side of the cliff.

Then, almost as suddenly as it had started, the attack was over. A woman, with fiery red hair and dark blue eyes had grabbed the Avenger off of the brothers, thrown it against the rock, and had taken it on solely.

Prometheus, the bloody (the Avenger had been in the process of tearing out his liver when the brothers had arrived) figure chained to the rock, cried out a ragged "Athena!"

Athena slaughtered the Avenger, severing it's head with a well aimed slice from her sword. "That will keep you occupied for at LEAST a day." She told it's remains, which were already beginning to heal.

The woman, tall with an air of dignity and danger around her, turned and healed both Sam and Dean. "That was your awesome plan? Taking on an immortal demon-bird with a gun and a knife, without any real plan whatsoever?" She looked at them disdainfully. "Pathetic." Without giving them any more attention, or answering their questions of "Who the hell are you?" and "How many fucking gods ARE there?" she walked over to Prometheus and broke his chains with a single touch, and then healed him in a similar fashion. When he stood he hugged her.

"Hang on, I thought 'Athena' was the goddess of War?" Sam asked.

"Nerd." Dean said.

"I am." Athena said. "But that doesn't mean I can't be sympathetic. Who put Hope in the bottom of Pandora's box? Me. Who is prepared to heal a broken and bleeding angel called Castiel in Gulfport? I am. For a cost"

"Prometheus can. That's why we're here. No cost his way."

"I can't heal anyone actually. Only myself." Prometheus said a little sadly.

"Shit." Dean sighed.

"Ready to hear my request?" Smirked Athena. "Because I CAN help you."

"IF we decide to help," Dean asked, "What would we need to do?"

"Kill something for me." Athena said. "A mistake I once made that I regret. You need to kill it before it hurts any more people."

"A god, caring for the humans?" Mocked Dean.

"One of the only ones who does." Sighed Athena. "So, do you accept my quest?"

"What would we need to kill?" Sam asked.

"Medusa." Was the reply.


	10. Chapter 10: The Plot Thickens

_Please review!

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"You created Medusa?" Asked Dean. This day just got weirder and weirder. Okay, all Greek gods were real. Hercules was real. Demon-bird creatures were real. Zeus was a douchebag. Medusa was created by Athena who is the goddess of war but is helpful. Weirder and weirder.

"There was once a young woman named Medusa." Prometheus said before Athena answered. "She was very beautiful, and very vain. One day, when she was twenty-four she looked into her mirror and said 'Why, with my face and hair, I'm more beautiful than even the goddess Athena'."

"In those days I had many worshipers. That was something you just didn't SAY." Athena said, sitting. "I was vain and she pissed me off, so I turned her into something terrible. A monster." She bit her lip and Sam knew she regretted losing her temper.

Prometheus continued for her. "Athena turned her face into something so hideous it turned people to stone if they saw it, and she turned her hair into a mass of writhing snakes. The girl fled, turning everyone who saw her on the way to stone."

Athena sighed. "For several years she was more depressed than anything else. But then she became mad and now she's turning everyone who goes near her into stone."

"Why don't you just kill her?" Asked Sam.

"I have my reasons." Athena said mysteriously. "So, you kill her, preferably without getting turned to stone, and I heal Castiel. Deal?"

There was a pause. "Fine." Dean said. "Where is she?"

"She's in a cave not far from here." Athena pointed down into the forest. "Down there along the cliff side. You'll know when you reach the right cave."

"How?"

"It will have many stone statues of unlucky people and animals outside it."

"I had to ask."

After Dean and Sam left Prometheus turned to Athena. "What will you do with me now, sister?"

"Stay hidden again until I call for you. We have work to do, and the brothers... I will recruit them. But I need others as well. I'm going to talk to Hercules, Pandora... and of course the angel. He is powerful. We'll need him too."

"My goddess!" Pandora said, kneeling at Athena's feet.

"Hello Pandora." Athena said, bringing her back up and giving her a brief hug. "How have you been?"

"I'm fine. But why are you down on Earth? Why aren't you on Mount Olympus with Zeus?" She asked.

"That's... to save the problem of repeating myself, you'll find out later. Safe to say," She said turning to Castiel who was watching them with his one good eye, "Heaven's not the only holy area that is in disarray." She healed the angel. "Now don't go popping off for Dean and Sam. Do so and I will kill you. Sorry, but they're on a mission for me, and I only sent them so they can prove themselves worthy."

"Worthy for what?"

"Like I said, you'll find out soon enough." She unexpectedly hugged Castiel, who was more than a little uncomfortable with it. "You aren't part of the upcoming deal however. I know I can get the brother's to help out, but there is little I can offer you. I can't go into Heaven, so I am no use in helping out with your war. There is nothing I can offer you for your help. So I'm asking nicely instead. Little nephew, will you help me? Please?" She and Castiel sat eye-to-eye, and he saw no deceit hidden in hers, no madness. He didn't like the Greek gods, didn't trust them, but she was asking, something Greek gods rarely did. No, more often they demanded. However, Athena always was different...

"Alright." He answered. "I will help, but only to be there if the Winchester brothers need me. May I know with what though?"

Athena nodded. "Alright. Listen." And she told them the state of Mount Olympus, much to Pandora's absolute horror.

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_Athena calls Castiel 'My little nephew'. This is probably actually true. I assume all gods in Supernatural are siblings (or at least related), but of different power, so God is Athena's (brother?). That would make Castiel her nephew._


	11. Chapter 11: Medusa

_Please review! I love writing for Medusa...

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"Well that's creepy." Dean said, passing his hand in front of the statue's eyes. Unsurprisingly, there was no reaction.

"There are more over here." Sam called. There were about fifteen in total that they had encountered so far. Men, woman, even a child once, and animals. Deer, owls, rabbits...

"What the hell does she EAT?" Dean asked.

"Huh?" Sam said, not really listening but examining the perfect miniature statue of an ant.

"Well she can't eat animals. She'd turn them to stone. So what does she eat?"

"Berries I guess." Sam said. He dropped the ant by mistake and it fell onto a rock, shattering. "Oops. I guess it's dead now."

"I'm pretty sure they're all dead Sam."

"No, they may actually be alive, their souls trapped inside the rock. It's possible." Dean looked around.

"These people are ALIVE?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. Perhaps Athena can restore them when we're finished." Sam pointed to the cliff face. "Her cave has to be somewhere over there."

"Hey Sam, did she say how to kill Medusa?"

"Yeah. Beheading. That's why we left behind our guns." He felt like adding _idiot _to that line, but in the end he restrained himself as he always managed too.

"You assume? Great, _that's_ accurate." Dean sighed.

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"Do we have a plan?" Whispered Dean. He and Sam were standing outside Medusa's cave. It was undoubtedly hers, protected by a wall of every stone animal that ever had had the misfortune of looking upon her.

"Not really." Sam whispered back. "Just don't look at her."

"Then how are we supposed to fight it? With our eyes closed?" Dean demanded slightly loudly. There was a faint hissing from inside and the brothers ducked behind a rock slightly inside the cave.

A large shadow portrayed the sleeping figure of Medusa. It was still, resting, but the snakes on her head writhed and slithered restlessly, and the hissing was growing louder as more woke up.

"We can see her shadow." Breathed Sam. "Don't look at her Dean, watch her shadow instead."

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Medusa heard every word, heard the shallow breaths and the whispers. She could even hear their heartbeats loudly and clearly. She'd had intense hearing ever since... well, ever since Athena. Guess that's what happens when a goddess changes you. She grinned and kept still, her hand caressing the blade of the scimitar she always slept curled around. The scimitar she'd gotten off one of her victims. The scimitar that she'd sworn would one day end up in Athena's heart. Her snakes hissed louder and she calmed them by petting a few she could reach without moving.

The girl's blood red eyes looked up to the shadows and could clearly see the shorter one, who she believed had been called Dean, making his way over to her, sword raised. Still, she waited, her clawed, flaked hand curling around the scimitar's handle.

The man raised his sword, as far away from her as he could be without being bitten by her snakes. Medusa's body was still, but her mind was running, leaping and plotting. It was clear with hatred, and she didn't care who these men were, only that she had to live if she was ever to exact revenge on Athena.

At the last moment she sprang into action, turning and catching the blade before it hit her. She looked into his face, but he was fast and had already closed his eyes. They struggled for a moment, but she had become much stronger with her transformation. "Look at me mortal. Look at me, and tell me I'm beautiful." She hissed.

"Man you are messed up." He said instead. Outraged and upset, Medusa almost didn't hear the other man. The larger one, Sam. But his footfalls were heavy.

"I'm messed up?" Medusa growled. Her snakes on her gleefully evil command reached out their long necks and their fangs bit into his flesh. She cackled gleefully. He screamed out and opened his eyes in the moment of pain.

He saw her face. Saw her red eyes, her peeling yellow flesh, her tangled web of snake hair... and he saw no more. Dean had been turned to stone.

"Dean!" Medusa heard Sam cry out, she shoved Dean's statue in his direction and it hit Sam. It was probably lucky it hit Sam. Hitting the wall would have broken it for sure, killing Dean.

Medusa regained her grip on her scimitar and came slashing at Sam. She could see the mortal struggling to keep his eyes closed against his natural instinct to watch her every move. She could see the hatred in his face at her turning Dean. And she didn't care. She stabbed his arm, but she didn't withdraw her scimitar fast enough and Sam wrenched it from his arm and threw it across the cave.

Medusa watched it, her face alarmed. Whatever would she do if it broke? Luckily it just wedged itself into the wall. She breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to the fight, just in time to reflexively duck a slash from Sam. Several of her serpentine locks weren't so lucky and were beheaded. She cried out in pain and anguish.

Her hair! Her once beautiful hair! She leapt madly at Sam, sinking her teeth into him for lack of anything else she could do that would hurt him. Luckily for her she also had her hair which followed suit, biting at him. Sam screamed in pain, but he knew this was his only chance. With his eyes still closed he swung the sword he had in his hand around in an arc. Warm blood spurted into his face as Medusa's head rolled off her shoulders.

Sam stood, still being careful not to look at her face. He rushed over to the still statue of Dean. "Shit." He said. Maybe Athena COULD bring him back to life. But if she could... what would that crack down his arm mean? And if she couldn't? Sam pushed that from his mind. "You're gonna be fine Dean." He said, picking up the heavy statue.


	12. Chapter 12: War Tales

_Please review!

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Athena was waiting for Sam when he arrived, lugging Dean behind him. She watched him calmly from her seat upon a rock as he struggled to pull his heavy stone brother up the mountain.

After he had pulled him up, Sam collapsed onto a stone of his own, breathing heavily, sweat pouring down his face. "Can you heal him?"

Athena shrugged. "Yes. I already healed Castiel so you know, but Dean... he wasn't part of the deal."

"We just killed Medusa for you!" Sam was nursing his snake bites and Athena, rolling her eyes, healed them.

"And that was a wonderful thing for you to do." She said, stepping back. "In the old days, people helped me and didn't even EXPECT a reward other than knowing they helped their goddess." She shrugged. "But I'll heal him anyways. Because I have more work for you."

"We killed Medusa. Castiel is healed, once you heal Dean, we're done." Sam said.

"Oh really? What about Pandora's Box?"

"We'll look for it."

"Because I can just hand it to you. I can easily get it. And I'll throw in one stone-to-flesh spell for Dean's sake. All you need to do, is help me out with... a little problem."

"What problem?" Sam asked, sighing. He saw no other way to get his brother back.

"Zeus." Athena spat. "Are you in?"

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Athena lay Stone Dean onto the bed which was still soaked in Castiel's blood. "Πέτρα-στη-σάρκα." She said and a moment later Dean glowed green. Bits of rock melted away from his skin and dripped onto the floor, instantly cooling and solidifying. Suddenly Dean took a deep breath and bolted upright as the last of the rock dribbled away from his arms.

"Dean!" Sam said, kneeling by him. "You okay?"

"Yeah. What- what happened?" He gripped his arm and gasped. Sam looked and saw blood pumping from it. That was where the crack had been when he was stone. Athena sighed, reached out and healed him.

"Medusa turned you to stone, your brother killed her, I revived you and Castiel. That isn't important." Athena said impatiently.

"I told Athena we'd help her with something else in exchange for her to revive you, and for the box."

"Great. What?" Dean said sarcastically, examining his arm.

"I need Zeus to die." Athena said darkly.

"Heaven isn't the only area caught in civil war. After the Apocalypse started, Zeus wanted to help Lucifer. He said he'd had enough of the pesky humans and wanted them to die. Roughly half the gods remaining felt his way." Castiel started.

"I thought differently. I love the humans. They're interesting, inquisitive and I want them to survive, even if none of them worship me anymore. I stood up against Zeus and... and war broke out. Many gods have lost their lives. Too many. I know this will all end, if only Zeus dies. The others follow him out fear, but if he's dead, they will listen to me. Even now that Lucifer is back in his cage he wants to kill the humans. He's talking about murdering them by the thousands! But we can stop him." Athena looked over at Pandora. "And all past sins will be forgotten. Prometheus, Pandora and Hercules can all rejoin the Pantheon. I will forgive them, give them redemption. And I will call the Avenger off Prometheus's tail."

"But she needs help to do it. She's been cast out from Mount Olympus, and to get back in, she needs humans to infiltrate it and throw down the... well it's kinda like a magic field keeping all banished gods and creatures away from their realm. That includes me, her, Prometheus, Epimetheus and Hercules, all of whom have agreed to help her in her battle." Pandora said.

"Don't you have gods inside the Pantheon who can throw down the field?"

"No. They've all been cast out as well. Will you help me?" Athena asked.

Dean considered it. "Alright. But... the box, when we get it back, do you have a solution which WON'T end in Pandora's death?"

"Yes. Taking it with me into Mount Olympus. If Pandora stays with it, then she will survive. Epimetheus too." Athena smiled. "I'm not evil Dean. I just want what's best for the gods and for the humans. Peace."

"You're the goddess of War!" Dean couldn't help but point out.

"Just because I control war doesn't mean I enjoy it, Dean." She said softly, and looked out the window.

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_Yay, I've set myself up for the perfect opportunity to add more gods! I wonder which ones too choose..._


	13. Chapter 13: Preparation

_Please review!

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"Everyone! These are the humans I told you about. Sam and Dean Winchester." Athena announced to the cave full of assorted humans that they'd just been teleported too.

There was a moment of mumbling and among the various snippets caught, the brothers overheard "Oh yes, they started the Apocalypse, didn't they?" and "THOSE things are gonna help us? Yeah right." The brothers recognized Hercules and Prometheus in the crowd. The rest Athena introduced.

"This is Poseidon, the Sea god. Zeus's brother." Poseidon gave them a mistrusting look, his blue eyes stormy. "This is Artemis, goddess of the hunt." Artemis gave them a cold glare and continued readying her bow.

"Not a welcoming feel..." Whispered Dean.

"And that's Dionysus, god of wine, Zeus's son." He was the only one who greeted the brothers with a cheer and a merry but hard thump on Dean's back. "On Zeus's side, we will be facing a number of minor gods. I don't think they'll be a problem. But then there are the major gods. All of us have family in there, all of us have people we won't want to face, but they have chosen Zeus's side, they have chosen for the humans to die, and they won't listen to our reason! They must all die." She paused.

"Who's still in there that's alive?" Asked Hercules quietly.

"Hera, Artemis's and my mother. Hermes. And... Apollo. Artemis's twin." Artemis ground her teeth and looked away. Sam suddenly understood the savage look she'd given them. They were going to help her get in so she could kill her twin brother. "Hephaestus and Demeter, our siblings, are dead, and Aphrodite has fled. They won't be there to help us."

"What about Hades?" Asked Poseidon in a rumbling, deep voice.

"Hades is... well... he's Hades. You know he doesn't care about the Pantheon."

"Alright then, let's get started." Dean said because he really couldn't see any point to waiting around because all the gods were already ready.

Dean then felt someone smack the back of his head really hard, and when he turned Artemis was glowering at him. "Don't you understand you pathetic mortal? 'Let's get started' may be a term familiar to you. All YOU have to do is kill a bunch of creatures you've never met. These are our FAMILY. We KNOW them! I have to either kill or watch my twin be killed. That's like you killing Sam. So don't be unsympathetic, because this is difficult. This isn't like hunting down a creature who's been killing humans, this is mowing down family who's only mistake is following our father, Zeus. So if you laugh through this, if you taunt or mock us, if you continue acting like an ass, then if I survive this I will hunt YOU next." She turned away, thoroughly disgusted.

"Right... regardless of being unsympathetic, we should leave now as Dean said." Athena said, obviously a little unnerved by her sister's temperament. "Or, the humans should at least since we can't go anywhere near Mount Olympus yet." She turned to the brothers and Pandora. "The more powerful gods are on top of the Mountain. You'll have to scale it. It gets really cold, so when I teleport you there you'll appear in warmer clothes. Guarding the mountain are a number of minor gods. They may not be as powerful as say me, but they can still effectively kill you so watch out. If you have to, kill them, but remember hardly any of them are actually evil, so try not to do so."

"Wait, Pandora's coming?" Dean asked.

"She's a human too. And she volunteered."

"She'll just be someone to protect. She has no experience hunting." Dean protested.

"No, but she has experience with the Greek gods. She can tell you what each god or goddess controls before you face them. Believe me, that will be very useful." Athena smiled at her. "Besides, she's had a long time to figure out how to be useful in a fight. In fact, if any of you are going to survive this, my bet is on her."

"Gee THAT'S reassuring." Dean said flatly. Athena smiled and reached forward to teleport them away.


	14. Chapter 14: Cratos and Pandora

_Please review!

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Dean, Sam and Pandora appeared on a mountainside. It was snowy and freezing, and everyone was thankful for their nice thick jackets that they now had. Dean and Sam had pistols and several knives each, and Pandora had a bow and a sling of arrows which she insisted she would much rather use then a fire-stick which she didn't trust. She pointed up and told the brothers "This is as far in as Athena could teleport us. We have to go up to get to Olympus, it's not far but it's only going to get colder. We shouldn't have to face that many minor gods, seeing as most of them were probably killed off in the war, or fled the mountain. And they also have to patrol the ridges all around Olympus as well. I'd say maybe two or three."

They started their way up, and for the first twenty minutes it was uneventful. That is, if you call blistering cold, wailing winds, wet snow and blurry vision uneventful. But then they spotted their first god, patrolling the mountainside and looking thoroughly bored.

"Who's that?" Whispered Dean as they all ducked behind a large snowy rock. Unfortunately the whistling wind prevented him from being heard so he had to speak louder than he liked to get Pandora to hear him.

"That's Khione, goddess of snow. I'm not surprised that she's part of the line of defense on this snowy mountain." Pandora cringed as the goddess looked in their direction, but she didn't seem to see or hear them and continued her bored patrol.

"What's her weakness?" Dean asked.

"Fire." Pandora replied.

"Unfortunately we don't have anything to make fire out of except a lighter." Sam sighed.

"Wrong." Pandora said and took out an arrow from her sling. She ripped off a bit of material from her shirt and wrapped it around the arrow's tip, shivering in the cold when she took her jacket off to do so. She then held out her hand for the lighter and, upon receiving it, set the material on fire, cocked her bow and let the arrow fly into the goddess' back.

The goddess screamed and tore out the arrow, but the fire spread across her own clothes and in only seconds she was up in flame, running around too hectically to stop and realize that she could easily put it out with the snow that lay all around her.

"Her screaming is going to attract other gods!" Dean exclaimed. "Let's go now!" But as they were leaving a different god jumped Pandora, stabbing her repeatedly with a knife. Dean didn't hesitate. Upon seeing her blood splatter the snow, contrasting so much, he raised the pistol and fired, probably attracting even more attention to their whereabouts.

The god fell back, letting go of Pandora who dropped to the ground like a cinder-block. He was still alive though, and apparently, for some _strange _reason, pissed off. He ran up and hit Sam, who was nearer than Dean, with the force of a sledgehammer. Dean watched unbelieving as the force not only crumbled his brother's nose, but also sent him flying a good couple hundred meters back.

"C-cr-atos... g-god of s-strength." Pandora spluttered, blood spewing over her from her lips. She was growing white as the blood quickly spurted from her body from the many knife wounds and almost instantly congealed in the cold.

"Weakness?" Dean asked urgently, watching the god pace over to him and backing away slowly. Pandora answered very quietly, and Dean couldn't catch the answer. "Pandora? Weakness?" He insisted, but the woman couldn't reply.

"None." Said the god grinning and reaching for Dean. "I'm indestructible."

Dean ducked to the side and punched Cratos and withdrew, his hand hurting from the hardness of the man's skin and muscles. "If that were true, you'd be a major god." He ducked Cratos's swing, but was caught by the kick, which made him double over in pain.

"Nah." Cratos said. "I'm Hercules' replacement. He WAS god of strength. But now I am." He hit him again, but then Sam stabbed him through the back with his knife.

Cratos cried out in pain but once again, the knife wound seemed to have little effect and he turned, slugging Sam again who, when thrown back once again, was seeing stars. "Invincible, remember?"

With his back turned now, Dean lunged for the knife, brought it around and shot Crato in the head. "Let's see if you're so invincible without a brain." And when the god, who's face now largely consisted of a massive hole, sunk to his knees, Dean added, "Guess not."

Sam got up a little woozily, and staggered over to Pandora, his nose dripping blood down his front. Dean, noting that he'd probably be okay, knelt by her side too.

"She's dead." Sam said quietly. Of course, the probability of her ever surviving those wounds had never been very great, but Dean knew that they'd brought her into this. That they were the reason she was dead.

"Sam, let's get moving." He said, rising. Well, then she's dead. Not much he could do about it then, and even as terrible as he did feel, he couldn't show any of it.


	15. Chapter 15: Chaos

_Please Review!

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Staggering drunkenly against the terribly forceful winds, the brothers crested the top of the mountain and peered down into the valley below. The sight that met their eyes was dazzling.

A palace which stretched on for miles, built like a traditional ancient Greek house with pillars and stone. It glowed with the light and power of the gods inhabiting it and there was the soft purr of godly voices that could be heard even from up where the brothers were.

They made their way down, thankful to get out of the chilling winds, and even while being forced to duck behind snowy lumps and rocks on several occasions to avoid the patrolling gods, they made good time and reached the entrance in a matter of minutes.

"Can we just... walk in?" Dean asked.

Sam knew his brother was suspicious of traps, but why would the gods trap their own homes when Athena's band couldn't enter anyways? "Probably." he said shrugging, and slid into the outskirts of the building, keeping carefully behind pillars. They snuck in the door, hidden behind more rows, and entered it.

It seemed as if they'd walked into a press conference. Up on the stage, that was undoubtedly Zeus, his yellow eyes gleaming as he raged about the threat of Athena and the lowliness of the human race. Below, eagerly listening to him and nodding in agreement was an assortment of gods. In the front, raised slightly above the others obviously to show their importance were A woman and two men. Hera, Hermes and Apollo.

Sam and Dean, quickly and quietly, moved past them and entered the next room. "Where did Athena say the switch thing would be?" Dean asked, groaning as they beheld the room with a thousand doors, each leading off to a different part of the building.

"At the very center of the building." Sam sighed. "Let's just head straight." They pushed on ahead, through wide open ballrooms and twisted, winding corridors, wondering how anyone could successfully navigate through here.

* * *

Eventually, after about twenty minutes of walking and guessing, they came to a room that was three times larger than all the others, paved in solid gold, and decorated sparsely with sculptures, paintings and other various decorations. At the far end of the room was a giant gold throne specled with jewels. Obviously, this was Zeus' throne room. Beside the throne was a large metal lever.

"That's probably it." Dean said, walking towards it. A shadow leaped down into their way. A man. Apollo.

"And just WHAT do you think _you're _doing?" He said, sounding just like his twin with that snide remark and sneering voice. "I don't believe you belong here."

"Uh... what's Apollo the god of?" Dean asked uncertainly.

"Lot's of things, primarily the sun, and music." Apollo looked proud, but was remarkably pissed off when Dean burst into laughter.

"You gonna serenade us to death music-boy?" Dean scoffed and started to walk around him. Apollo grabbed him from behind, his hands burning hot with his control of the sun's heat and threw him against the wall. Knowing that Dean was providing a probably-unplanned distraction for him, Sam leapt towards the lever. Apollo, in his fury at Dean, didn't notice until Sam grabbed it and yanked on it hard.

There was a screeching noise and the lights dimmed significantly. "What did you DO?" Screeched Apollo. Immediately the other Pantheon members started appearing around them, all equally furious, but then so did Athena, leading her army of gods, appearing just in time to save Sam and Dean.

Artemis leapt on Apollo, chasing him off to a different part of the building.

Athena and Dionysus took on Zeus, turning into a blur of magic and blows.

Everything dissipated into chaos, blood and anarchy.


	16. Chapter 16: Conflicts

_Okay this chapter is written from different perspectives for the different battles. Artemis' then Dean's then Zeus'. _

_ Please review!

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Artemis chased Apollo through room after room, leaping and dodging objects. Occasionally she'd raise her bow and fire when she had a clear sight path, but she knew she was purposely aiming high because she couldn't bring herself to actually hurt him. She knew Apollo felt similarly because he might be able to take her and he wasn't stopping.

This had to stop. They burst into a silver-colored hall with numerous fountains of all sizes lining it, and since it was so large, she knew she'd have a clear shot. She raised her bow again and forced herself to lower the arrow tip. She sent it flying into his shoulder, wincing herself when it struck. He stopped running, and because she was so closely following, she almost careened into him.

He turned and caught her, letting her bow clatter to the floor, and for several seconds they froze, unmoving. Artemis' eyes tracked the stream of blood from his shoulder, wishing she could have gone after a different god instead, but knowing that she couldn't let anyone else kill her twin.

"You shouldn't have joined Athena." He said quietly.

"She was right." Artemis replied even quieter.

"Perhaps. But Zeus is stronger."

"Strength doesn't matter Apollo. Zeus is stronger. There's a good chance he'll win. But I'd rather die knowing that I've died honorably, for the humans we've looked after, then live knowing I've betrayed them all." She pulled away, but made no attempts to pick up her bow.

Apollo pulled out the arrow from his shoulder, but by attempting to do so at such a strange angle, the tip broke off, still burrowed into his back. "Hmm." He muttered before deciding to leave it. He looked back to his sister. "So what now?"

A single tear slid from her silver eyes and made it's way down her cheek. "I have to kill you Apollo. Or you have to kill me. Either way, no matter what happens, even if we both agree on a truce, the other side will kill one of us upon sight."

Artemis didn't want to hurt Apollo, but it was needed. For the humans. Gathering her courage, she focused her full attention on her brother, and leapt at him, yanking the dagger from her belt.

He seemed to have known what she was about to do, for he ducked and grabbed her legs, making her slam into the floor. And indeed, since no-one knew them better than themselves, it was going to be a difficult fight as they could predict each others every movement.

Artemis slashed at her brother, who grabbed her arm and twisted it, causing her to drop the blade. He rolled over onto her and hit her in the face again and again and again. She was momentarily frozen by his savagery. He was her brother! And he was going to kill her if she didn't defend herself! She was shocked, but then she realized that she herself had been going for the kill when leaping at him.

With another slug came something familiar yet new. Hatred. But hatred at her brother, something she'd never felt before. She pushed him up and off, grabbed her knife and closed in warily, yet quickly. And when she attacked again, her mind in the rush of the hunt, the only thing she could think was: He ALLIED with ZEUS!

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Dean and Sam were fighting Hera, dodging her sword blows and swiping back. Hera was not particularly skilled with the sword, and her powers as a goddess were limited in the ways of war and fighting, so the brothers were winning, getting plenty of hits in on her without taking very many themselves, although Sam had taken one across his stomach.

Distracting Dean an unbelievable amount was the fight to his left, between Castiel, Hercules, Prometheus and about twenty minor gods, and of course their fight kept colliding with the fight between Poseidon and Hermes to their right.

What worried Dean though was the fact that Athena and Zeus hadn't been seen, which probably meant they were fighting each other, but wasn't Zeus way more powerful? Perhaps they'd better finish this fight quickly to try and help. And Artemis... she was fighting her twin, wasn't she? If so, she might need help too...

Dean was brought out of his distracting thoughts when the sword clipped his shoulder. He grabbed it and wrenched it out of Hera's hands, stabbing her with his own blade. Sam rolled over to help Poseidon, pinning Hermes while he poured water from his hands into his lungs until he drowned.

Dean left Sam fighting alongside the others, because he needed to find Athena and Artemis, to make sure they were alright, and to help them with their own fights.

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Zeus was having a lot of difficulty with Athena. Of course, normally he'd just be able to smite his daughter, but every time he was about to, his son, Dionysus would appear and distract him.

Zeus had always favorited Athena. The wise one. The wrathful one. Oh, she'd been disobedient at times, but she'd never done anything like THIS. He stabbed at her with his sword, but she easily avoided it and he grumped that he'd taught her everything she knew.

"HERMES!" He roared as Dionysus splattered him with wine, laughing as he did. That son was terrible in fights, he couldn't hurt anyone. Then a golden wine-goblet whacked him in the side of the head, and he revised that assessment.

But Hermes himself had been attacked, and so wasn't around to help out. Grumbling even more, Zeus reached the end of his tolerance with his youngest son when another goblet whacked into him. Turning, he aimed a hand at Dionysus and lightening spewed forth from it, much to Athena's absolute horror. Dionysus was instantly vaporized.

"Brother!" Athena called, but she knew it was too late, and she dodged what could have been a similar execution for herself.

"Why attack me Athena?" Zeus said, watching her for a sign of weakness whilst throwing lightening bolts, which she ducked and dodged in rapid succession.

"Good one." She flipped aside, breathing heavily. "You're ready to kill the humans."

"Insignificant useless beings." Spat Zeus. "We're better than them. And since you can't see that..." He inserted a gasp when Athena's swipe at him with her sword struck and his blood started flowing. "Then you can die." He spewed more lightening bolts at her, but she dodged and stabbed at him again and again. They struck home and more cuts opened up on Zeus' body, to the point where he was starting to feel it. Then, when it looked like there was no hope whatsoever for Zeus, Athena made a crucial miscalculation in timing, and a lightening bolt hit her. With a scream of agony she felt her flesh sizzle off her, and in a few short seconds there was nothing left of the goddess Athena except a few pieces of charcoal.


	17. Chapter 17: Hades

_Please review! -sorry I know it's short. But this chapter is only there to introduce Hades and explain Artemis' situation.

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_Dean barreled through hall after hall, trying to find Athena, wherever she and Zeus had disappeared off too. Instead, the first person he ran into was Artemis.

She sat on a fountain, perfectly still, face blank, eyes clouded, emotionless. At her feet lay the bloody, severed head of her twin brother, Apollo. She stared at it, unblinking and unceasing.

"Artemis?" Dean tried, but the goddess didn't even twitch. She had simply locked in on herself, shut everything else out except her pain. Her face was covered in bruises and cuts, and she was bleeding profusely from a stomach wound, but she seemed not to notice, or simply not to care.

"Artemis, your brother is dead, and I am so sorry, trust me I know what it's like to love family more than anything else, but we need your help, Athena is facing Zeus ALONE." There was no reaction from her. So Dean tried something more drastic, which involved grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. The only thing that got him was a slap from the goddess which threw him onto the floor. She then went back to her unmoving, staring position, as though she'd never moved.

"I don't have time for this." Dean said, thoroughly irritated and rushed from the room, creating a mental map of where she was for after he'd found Athena.

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"Tsk tsk." Tsked a low, almost bored voice from behind Zeus. "Killing your own children."

"Hades." Zeus said, turning away from the charred remains of his daughter. The god of the Ancient Greek Underworld stood, surveying the scene. "What brought you up to the light?"

"The past few hundred years have been... slow down there. No-one worships or believes in the Greek gods anymore so there are almost no souls being shipped down my way anymore. No, they're all going off to 'Heaven' or 'Hell.'" He made quotations with his fingers. "But then all of a sudden my brothers and sisters souls start appearing. At first I took little notice, but they kept coming and coming. So when I saw Hermes, Hera, Dionysus and Athena down below, I decided to come up and see what's happening. Civil war. Tsk tsk. Didn't invite me, I see?"

"I didn't _invite _you because you HATE me." Zeus spat. He hoisted a lightening bolt at Hades, but the god held up a hand and it stopped then dissipated before him.

"Oh please, I don't hate you brother. True, I'm fairly sure you cheated somehow to gain your position, but why should I hate you?" His tone took a turn to sarcastic now. "After all you drew the straw which got you the position of king of the gods, and I drew the straw getting me the position of king of the underworld. Perfectly fair."

"Someone had to watch over the souls of our worshipers."

"And that someone could have been you."

"But it wasn't."

"But it COULD HAVE been. As it could have been Poseidon, but it wasn't. Remember, you aren't any more powerful than I am, or Poseidon is, you just got lucky. And now your luck is running out."

"What do you want Hades?" Snarled Zeus, knowing that he was right.

"I want to be leader of the pantheon. And if I don't get to be, I will tear out your throat and take it forcefully from you." Hades stood only centimeters from Zeus' face, and they stood silently for a few minutes, sizing each other up before the inevitable battle.

But the battle never came, because just then Dean smashed through the door, saw Zeus presumably talking to another god who was therefore presumably an enemy, and attacked them both.


	18. Chapter 18: Ending

_Please review!_

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Hades simply dodged out of the way and let Dean start in at Zeus, who was obviously pissed off with him. Hades decided that while his brother was so preoccupied, perhaps that would be the best time to finish him off. After all, what would get him the place as the next ruler of the Pantheon if not destroying the tyrant Zeus?

He sneaked behind Zeus and the god and human tussled, the knife having been knocked out of Dean's hand. They were both scrabbling for it, scratching and kicking to get it before the other. Zeus' knife was still with Hades, where he'd thrown it only seconds before. Hades wasn't sure whether the knife would work on him or not, but he knew one sword that would. Athena's sword which still lay forgotten to the side.

Hades made his way over to the sword, swiftly and silently, avoiding the pile of ash that had once been Athena. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure both men were occupied.

Dean, who was bleeding profusely from his nose, had Zeus pinned and was hitting him repeatedly, but Zeus was strong and pushed him back, away. Before he could shoot his lightening however, Dean was back, knowing that giving Zeus time would mean his doom.

Hades briefly considered letting Zeus kill the nasty little human before stepping in, one less human in the world and all that, but decided that he should use the distraction as long as he had it, and picked up the sword.

Just as Zeus had Dean by a hand and was punching him with all his might again and again, blood which was indistinguishable from god or human spurting everywhere, Hades slowly stuck the sword through his big brother's back, enjoying his revenge.

"You cheated me you bastard. All those years in the underworld, and all the time I knew this day would come." He withdrew the sword and let his dead brother slide to the ground.

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"I want to be ruler of the Pantheon." Both Hades and Poseidon said at the same time, glaring at one another.

"The gods settled on the idea of democracy before we came." Reminded Prometheus. "Not that it matters much anymore. In fact, at this rate, a leader for the Pantheon may once again be beneficial."

"How?" Castiel asked. "In most cases, successful democracies are better keys to happiness for the masses then monarchies."

"Yes, however most of the gods are lost." Prometheus looked around nervously before continuing. "Think about it. Zeus? Dead. Athena? Dead. Hera? Dead. Hermes? Dead. " He bit his lip then continued. "Most of the powerful gods are dead. And in the attack we lost Hercules too. And Pandora. They're both gone. And now, because Athena isn't here to keep her promise, I have the Avenger on my tail still. And Epimetheus committed suicide a few hours ago because his wife is dead. Artemis is… catatonic. She may as well be dead. Face it, the only main gods left are Poseidon and Hades. All the minor gods who are left are confused. They don't know who to follow, or what's happening. They need a dictatorship. A monarchy."

"You're being hunted again?" Dean asked.

"Hercules is dead?" Sam asked at the same time.

"Yes Sam, he… he died. During the attack. I guess he could never have redemption anyways, that the memories would always have plagued him. Anyways, the Avenger is back on my tail and I'm not safe here… or anywhere really, but I should go." He left slowly and a little sadly, kissing his catatonic sister, Artemis on the forehead on the way out. Artemis never even moved.

"In that case... I WANT TO BE THE NEXT RULER!" Rumbled Poseidon.

"That's my job now brother. At least YOU got to live up here, being worshiped and such. The only people ever worshiping me are necropheliacs! I deserve this more than you." Hades spat.

"Hey, before a spat, can I ask something?" Sam asked anxiously.

"What?" Hissed Poseidon.

"Whatever happened to Pandora's Box?"

"The power of it died with Zeus, Pandora and Epimetheus. It is now, wherever it is, a completely ordinary box." Hades answered.

While no-one was looking, Poseidon had pulled out a trident, and he now lofted it at Hades, murderous fury in his eyes. "The job is MINE!"

"Sam, we aren't a part of this anymore." Dean said, laying a hand on Sam's shoulder. "Let them sort it out. Any luck and they'll end up killing each other."

As they left, sounds of a fight breaking out behind them, Sam sighed. "We didn't manage to save anyone really, did we? Hercules and Athena are dead, Prometheus is on the run again, and we lost Pandora and Epimetheus too. And then Artemis... she's pretty bad off."

But to their surprise, as they were walking up the mountain and wondering how the hell they were going to get back, deciding to call upon Castiel who had recently left them again for the war up in Heaven, a hand lay on Dean's shoulder.

"Dean? Sam?" It was Artemis. Her eyes were still fairly distant and grievous, but at least she was speaking again.

"Yes?"

"Thank-you for your help." She hugged him briefly than without any further words, she teleported them back to the USA.

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_That's the end of the story! I hope you all enjoyed it! I want to say thank-you to everyone who commented, especially Reku14, AkiraSuzyoki (thank-you for the tips), and Goldennight16!_


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